Pakistan confident Oval Test forfeit will be cancelled

DUBAI : Pakistan is confident cricket's world body will change the result of the infamous 2006 Oval Test that was awarded to England over ball-tampering allegations, a senior official told AFP on Tuesday.

"We are pressing to have the match regarded as a draw or abandoned in the record books. Even England supports us on this," Pakistan Cricket Board chairman Naseem Ashraf said.

The first and only forfeit in the history of Test cricket that led to the sacking of controversial Australian umpire Darrell Hair is on the agenda of the ongoing meetings of the International Cricket Council here.

The fourth and final Test of the 2006 series was awarded to England by Hair and fellow umpire Billy Doctrove after the then Pakistan captain Inzamam-ul Haq refused to take the field following allegations of ball-tampering against his team.

Pakistan blamed Australian Hair for the fiasco and successfully campaigned for his removal from the ICC Elite Panel of umpires.

The since retired Inzamam was later absolved of ball-tampering while Hair was reinstated as a Test umpire earlier this year after a lengthy and messy legal battle.

"There is no reason for the Test to be treated as a forfeit against our team when ball-tampering charges have been dropped," said Ashraf.

England, which led 2-0 before the Oval Test, will remain the winners of the series even if the forfeit is overturned by the ICC.

The decision-making Executive Board of the ICC meets here on Wednesday and Thursday.